Strategic Gold Project with Significant Depth Potential
The Sams Creek Gold Project, based on a gold mineralised porphyry dyke, represents a substantial gold system with impressive dimensions:
- Up to 50 metres thick
- Extends for 7 kilometres along strike
- Has a vertical extent of at least 1 kilometre
- Currently hosts a resource of 953,000 ounces at 2.4g/t gold
- Remains open at depth
What makes Siren Gold Sams Creek project particularly interesting is its geological structure. The dyke has been folded into gentle northeast-plunging folds, with gold-bearing arsenopyrite veins preferentially forming in the antiform fold hinges. This structural pattern creates the potential for multiple parallel mineralised shoots along the dyke's length.
Understanding Gold Mineralisation at Sams Creek
The gold mineralisation at Sams Creek occurs primarily within thin (1-15mm) sheeted quartz-sulphide veins that crosscut the dyke. These veins strike to the northeast and dip predominantly to the southeast at around 50°.
The dyke was deformed by an event that resulted in gentle upright folds plunging to the northeast-east-northeast. Gold-bearing sulphide veins formed along fold hinges and parallel boudin necks of extending fold limbs, creating higher concentrations of veining in these areas. This results in northeast-plunging mineralised shoots up to 35m wide and 100m high, separated by zones of lower-grade gold mineralisation.
Underexplored Asset with Multiple Growth Targets
Despite its promising geology, Sams Creek remains significantly underexplored:
- Only 21,500 metres of diamond drilling completed to date
- Over 90% of drilling focused on just the Main Zone fold
- Six key target areas identified for resource expansion:
- Main Zone extension
- Doyles fold
- Western Outcrops
- Riordans
- Anvil
- Barrons Flat
Recent deep drilling success at Sams Creek beneath the Scoping Study's underground design has yielded encouraging results, with holes SC108 and SC109 intersecting a ~25m thick section of the Sams Creek Dyke. The deeper drillhole SC109 returned 4m @ 2.3g/t gold, indicating increasing mineralisation intensity in the steeper northwest limb.
"Siren's Sams Creek Gold Project continues to demonstrate encouraging potential to evolve into a very large and extensive high-grade gold system. With nearly 1 million ounces already defined in the folds at Main Zone, Siren is excited by the growing bank of evidence and confident that similar mineralised folds could be discovered," said Brian Rodan, Chairman and Interim Managing Director of Siren Gold.
The Doyles Fold: A Promising Expansion Target
Particularly notable is the Doyles fold, located 500m west of the Main Zone. This structure has shown strong gold potential:
- Rock chip samples at outcrop averaged 3.4g/t gold
- Previous deep drilling intercepted 11m @ 2.01g/t Au and 13m @ 3.14g/t Au
- The structure plunges approximately 30° northeast, similar to the Main Zone fold
- The 1.5km gap between the Doyles fold outcrop and previous drilling remains untested
The results from the Doyles fold are particularly encouraging as they suggest that the mineralisation patterns seen in the Main Zone may be repeated in other fold structures along the Sams Creek Dyke. This could significantly expand the resource base beyond the current 953,000 ounces.
Mining Permit Application Advancing
Siren Gold has made significant progress on the regulatory front:
- Mining Permit Application lodged March 2025
- Decision expected by end of 2025
- Scoping Study completed showing project viability
- Two mining options evaluated:
- Small open pit at SE Traverse + large open pit at Main Zone followed by underground mining
- Small open pit followed by larger underground mine accessed via portal near the SE Traverse pit
A key advantage of the project's geometry is that any additional mineralisation discovered in the Main Zone, Doyles, Western Outcrops, and Anvil folds could be accessed from the Main Zone underground mine and hauled to the SE Traverse processing facility, enhancing project economics.
Metallurgical Considerations
Previous metallurgical testing indicates strong gold recovery potential:
- Cyanidation testwork on oxide samples: 85-95% gold recovery
- Fresh sulphide mineralisation testing:
- Direct Leach: 79-87% gold recovery
- Float and then leach: 73-86% gold recovery
- Float and acid leach: 83-91% gold recovery
Overall, recoveries of 80-90% appear achievable, though further testwork is required to optimise the processing route for the various mineralisation types within the Siren Gold Sams Creek project.
Strategic Timeline for Development
Siren Gold has outlined a clear timeline for advancing the project:
- Mining permit decision expected by end of 2025
- Complete infill drilling on SE Traverse, Carapace, and Main Zone by end of Q2 2026
- Upgrade majority of Inferred Resource to Indicated category
- Update MRE and Scoping Study for release on ASX in Q3 2026
The planned infill drilling program will focus on converting the majority of the current Inferred resource to the higher-confidence Indicated category, which will provide a more robust foundation for future development decisions.
Why Investors Should Follow Siren Gold
The company believes several factors position Sams Creek for a potential re-rating:
- Scale potential – Multiple fold targets could significantly expand the resource beyond the current 953,000 ounces
- Operational efficiency – The ability to access additional mineralisation from a central underground development creates opportunities for low operating costs
- Tier 1 jurisdiction – New Zealand offers a stable mining environment, similar to Finland's gold mining projects which have seen strategic expansion
- Advanced regulatory status – Mining permit application is progressing well
- Exploration upside – The project remains significantly underexplored despite its promising geology
"The Board considers that a successful mining permit application for Sams Creek, along with a completed high value Scoping Study released on the ASX for an underground gold mine in New Zealand, a Tier 1 Country, with a low-cost operating environment, will provide a basis for a significant re-rating of the Company," added Rodan.
With its combination of existing resource, expansion potential, and clear development pathway, Siren Gold's Sams Creek project represents one of New Zealand's most exciting emerging gold development opportunities.
The Geological Setting of Sams Creek
The Sams Creek gold mineralisation is contained within a hydrothermally altered peralkaline granite porphyry dyke that intrudes Early Paleozoic metasediments. This geological setting is characteristic of intrusion-related gold deposits (IRGD), which typically exhibit good depth continuity and can form part of large mineralised systems.
The dyke strikes east-west and dips to the north, with dips ranging from 10 to 60 degrees. This variable dip creates opportunities for different mining approaches in different parts of the deposit, with the steeper sections being more amenable to traditional underground mining methods and the flatter areas potentially suitable for room and pillar or modified cut and fill methods.
Siren Gold's strategic approach to the Sams Creek project involves first establishing a central mining operation in the Main Zone, where the resource is already well-defined, and then using this infrastructure to access and develop additional mineralised zones as they are discovered through ongoing exploration. This phased development approach reduces initial capital requirements while maintaining the flexibility to expand as additional resources are defined.
With multiple mineralised fold targets already identified and a substantial untested strike length, Siren Gold's Sams Creek project offers significant potential to grow beyond its current resource base and evolve into a major gold mining operation in New Zealand. Furthermore, the promising drilling success with high-grade gold seen at other projects shows the potential for similar results at Sams Creek.
The company's exploration strategy bears similarities to Iceni Gold's exploration approach in Western Australia, focusing on systematic investigation of structural controls on mineralisation. Additionally, the drilling of copper-gold prospects in other regions demonstrates the continuing interest in gold-bearing systems across Australia and New Zealand.
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